The Era of Aria Snape

74

Chapter Seventy-Four

ARIA HAD LEFT dress shopping for the absolute last minute. She had used the excuse that she was too busy fighting dragons to bother, but now as she sorted through the last remaining dresses in a dingy old shop in Hogsmeade, she regretted her decision greatly.

She had been searching for so long that the sun was beginning to slowly set and the village was illuminated in shades of pinks and yellows. She compared the salmon-colored dress she was holding to the colors outside the window and realized that with her pale skin she would look positively sickly if she chose to wear it. She threw it onto a nearby chair and continued to sort through the rest of the dresses.

Aria pulled out the least horrendous one and went to try it on. The sleeves were far too big and kept slipping past her shoulders, but she told herself that she could adjust them once she was back in her dorm. She noted how the skirt was almost see-through and barely made it past her knees, the bodice was pretty at least, bejeweled in grey gems that contrasted the black fabric.

It wasn't the time to be picky. She was wearing the only remaining decent dress in the whole of Hogsmeade and it would have to do. The bright side was that she had a magnificent pair of shoes waiting for her back in the castle, they were sure to finish off the look nicely.

She thanked the man working at the store and hurried back to get ready for the Yule Ball.

She arrived back in her dorm, almost breathless from her run, and was greeted by Madison and Matilda and two of their friends, all wearing the most extravagant dresses that Aria had ever seen. It made the dress that she held appear as a scrap of fabric that was cut without care and had a few stones glued onto it. She pressed it closer to her body and stalked into the room, ignoring the girls as they did her.

As they paraded across the room in their gowns it became more apparent to Aria that her dress looked as though it belonged in a whore house rather than a Ball. She tried to mask her feelings of envy as she tossed the dress onto her bed and reached for the brilliant heels she had been so looking forward to wearing.

They didn't match the dress.

For a moment, Aria considered transfiguring the dress into something with more class and elegance but realized that for it to come out any better than it was now would take hours. Time was something she did not have.

"My mother gave me this dress. She wore it once, isn't it dazzling." Matilda did a little spin to showcase the turquoise gown that hugged her body. Even Aria had to admit that she looked decent in it, it was a pity about her face, though.

"Really?" One of the other girls gasped. "It's lovely. My mother bought this one for me. Said it was just my color and she couldn't stand the thought of me not having it." She gestured to her honey-colored dress. Aria looked away, the dress was gorgeous especially on her dark skin. Aria pushed her jealousy away and busied herself by searching through her cupboard to see if a dress had magically appeared.

The girls continued gushing over their dresses, talking about how their mothers had sent shoes and jewelry to match. Aria had never felt so alone, so left out. She didn't have a mother to buy a dress for her or do her hair. It had never seemed to be a problem until now. She had always longed for a mother for more practical things, never to help decide what color matched her skin tone best or what boy to dance with.

Anna arrived in the room as Matilda and her friends were leaving. She looked gorgeous in a sapphire ensemble that showcased her curvy body. Her dark hair was braided back.

"You're not dressed." She stated as she looked at Aria, still in her robes.

Aria shook her head. "You know, I was thinking about just missing this whole bloody thing and skipping straight to the part where George and I have sex at the end of the evening."